Arrest made in slayings of two Dearborn dollar store employees, report says

DEARBORN -- A Dearborn man is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon in the murder of two Family Dollar employees.

A warrant was issued for Lavere Douglas-Lee Bryant, 34, who is expected to be arraigned at 4 p.m. before 19th District Judge Sam Salamey on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder and one count each of armed robbery, unlawful imprisonment, felon in possession of a firearm and felony use of a firearm in the shooting deaths of Brenna Machus, 20, of Romulus and Joseph Orlando, 20, of Dearborn.

"The members of this department worked tirelessly and around the clock in an exemplary fashion to bring closure to this case in the finest tradition of delivering superior public service and earning the public's trust every day in everything we do," Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a press release.

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He also expressed "profound appreciation" to local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies that helped with the investigation, and to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Crime Stoppers and several other city departments.

"Everything about this case is extremely upsetting," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a press release. "This was not an easy case to put together. I commend all of the tenacity of the Dearborn Police Department and am grateful for the help from the public and media."

Bryant was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1999 and sentenced to one year in prison, five years' probation and sex offender therapy for a case that year in Detroit. A first-degree home invasion charge in that case was dismissed.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Family Dollar reopened, just over a week after the two employees were slain.

A handwritten note on the door initially said it would reopen Monday, but it was changed to Wednesday. The visitation and funeral for Machus, an assistant manager, were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at J.L. Peters Funeral Home in Lincoln Park; her body was to be cremated.

Machus' body was found July 18 in a wooded area near the Rouge River, east of the Southfield Freeway and south of Michigan Avenue and the railroad tracks Thursday morning. Orlando's body was found by employees who arrived for work July 16.

Both were shot in the head.

Orlando's arrangements are being handled by Querfeld Funeral Home in Dearborn, but the funeral had not been set as of Wednesday morning. It is to be at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church (formerly St. Joseph), 16101 Rotunda Drive, Dearborn.

Orlando had worked at the store for less than a week.

A makeshift memorial to them was outside the store, 22631 Michigan Ave., as it reopened. It contained several items like notes, balloons, American flags and teddy bears. It had grown over the previous several days.

A security guard entered the store about five minutes before it opened.

When employees arrived the morning of July 16, they found the store in disarray and Orlando shot. Machus was missing, and police believed all along she was in danger.

Surveillance video, which had a 7:26 p.m. time stamp from July 15, showed a man entering the store, waving and turning right. He was wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, a dark shirt with an unknown design, dark blue jeans and white athletic shoes.

The video also showed two women entering the store at different times between 7:25 and 7:35 p.m. Police found and talked to them; they are not considered suspects.

"We are saddened by the loss of Joseph and Brenna, and our hearts go out to their families and friends," Bryn Winburn, Family Dollar public relations manager, said via email. "We have a strong, tight-knit team in Detroit, and our focus is on taking care of them right now as we work to understand what happened. We are currently working with the Dearborn police to fully understand the situation, and we are assisting them in every way as they conduct their investigation."

She said a security guard will be at the store for the next month, and the regular hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day have resumed.

Winburn said there will be a "table of remembrance" in the store for anyone to place flowers or other items, or pay their respects.

Though the store's address is on Michigan Avenue, it's actually in a strip mall on Newman, one block south, between Military and Haigh.